by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Melissa Massé

Age: 29

Occupation: Art model

Bio: This free-spirited Mile-End gal arrived here from Saskatoon three years ago, after having travelled much of the globe as a street performer known as the Prairie Fairy. First dipping her feet into the relatively lucrative waters of nude art modelling as a young lass of 19 back in Saskatchewan, Melissa says, “If you’d asked me when I was 15 if I’d ever be doing this I’d have said you were nuts. I was too ashamed of my body then. But the first time you model it’s like whipping off a band-aid. Afterwards you feel so free and confident, it’s a really, really, liberating thing that everybody should do. I highly recommend it.”

Does she ever feel vulnerable standing nude in a room full of strangers? “Not really, only when there’s somebody in the room who isn’t drawing me and just staring. But it doesn’t happen often, everyone is cool and respectful. Actually, some of the first-year CEGEP students are petrified of me sometimes. You know, some of them have never seen a live nude lady before.”

Is there ever anything remotely arousing about her work? “Well, it’s sensual, sure, but not sexual, so I don’t really think about it.”

Do students ever ask her to pose in arguably compromising positions, like, say, on all fours with her ass poised high in the air while spreading her butt cheeks apart? “Well, no, because I generally choose my own poses. I knew another model who did this yoga position called the plow, and the teacher came over to her whispering, ‘Um, change your position, you’re too exposed.’ But I do choose more demure poses, because, you know, the students are there to draw my body, not really my genitals—although if they happen to be there, well, you know, they just draw what they see.”

Do students ever come onto her with a, “I couldn’t help but noticing what a firm bottom you have and was wondering if you’d like to join me for a drink afterwards” kind of thing? Sometimes. “They won’t ask me out per se, but they’ll say stuff like ‘Oh, your breasts are so nice.’ I just kind of ignore them.”

What art models are fetching in Montreal? Between $15 and $40 an hour. And there’s lots of work around.

Do models get less money if they’re clothed? No.

Is there more work available for attractive chicks than overweight beer-bellied trucker types? No. “And actually, an overweight woman is the best form to draw. In fact, I’ve lost work because I’m too slim. Every body is interesting to draw though.”

Childhood ambition: To become a MuchMusic VJ like Erica Ehm.

Last book read: The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck.

Musical preferences: Tiga, the new Sinead O’Connor reggae album.

Words of wisdom: “Life’s a gift, live every day like it’s your last. And treat everybody else like it’s their last. Remember to be kind and smile.”

Comments? dimwit@hdot.net